Wool feeding apparatus



May 9, 1944. .1. BELL] WOOL FEEDING APPARATUS Filed May 12, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N VEN TOR. $444.. 6

ATTOMY.

May 9, 1944. J, E I 2,348,691

WOOL FEEDING APPARATUS Filed May 12, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 9, 1944 WOOL FEEDING APPARATUS John Belli, Clifton, N. J., assignor to Botany Worsted Mills, Passaic, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application May 12, 1943, Serial No. 486,637

1 Claim. (CI. 19-78) In the transfer of wool from a source of supply in woolen mills to carding and other wooltreating machines, it is customary to employ feed aprons which consist of either wooden or metallic mutually hinged bars, the bars carrying hooks or spur teeth which pick up the wool and hold it in the feeding operation. The present apparatus relates to aprons made of metallic bars which are reversely curved at their longitudinal margins so that the curved areas of one bar lie within the curved margins of adjacent bars to form hinged connections therewith. In such case the bars are free for endwise movement unless restraining means is provided. Heretofore metallic stop elements have been carried by the bars at their ends for abutment with fixed guides. I have found that such an arrangement is objectionable because of undue wear and frictional objections occurring at the ends of the apron causing breakage and other serious defects which require periodic shutting down of the apron feed for repairs.

By means of the present invention an apron is provided in conjunction with feeding rollers of special design, the two operating in conjunction to restrain relative endwise movement of the apron bars, eliminating the use of end guides, and resulting defective occurrences.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a view largely schematic, showing in vertical section certain essential elements of a measuring wool feeding device for a carding machine and embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the plural-bar feed belt as to a section thereof employing five of the bars.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the two shift-restraining elements carried by each bar.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the upper feed roller and the upper portion of a pluralbar feed belt led thereover.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the two feed bars.

Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 66, Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a detailed view, in section, taken horizontally on the line 'i-l, Figure 6.

In Figure 1 of the drawings, I have shown in a diagrammatic manner, a measuring feed apparatus for a, wool carding machine, only essential elements being shown. At I is a hopper for W001. This hopper is carried by the framework and casing, the latter being generally indicated at 2. At the lower end of the casing is a shaft 3 which, in practice, is suitably supported by framework (not shown) and which extends from side to side of the casing 2. On the shaft is an apron feed roller 4 such as that illustrated in Figure 5.

At the top of the casing is a second shaft 5 carrying an upper feed roller 4, the same in construction as the lower feed roller. As shown in Figure 5, each roller is so cut as to provide a plurality of longitudinally extending shoulders Am.

The plural-bar feed belt consists of bars, each formed of a long strip of metal, each margin of the strip being curved, the curve at one margin extending in one direction and the curve at the opposite margin extending in reverse direction, as shown more particularly in Figure 2 wherein the individual bars are indicated at B. The curved margins of each bar are interengaged with the curved margins of two adjacent bars until an endless belt is formed.

Each bar carries a plurality of spurs 1. The wool in the hopper lies directly upon the toothed apron as shown in Figure 1. In the movement of the apron in the direction of the arrow shown in that figure, the spurs pick up tufts of wool and initially these wool tufts are carried upwardly toward the top of the casing 2 and then as the apron moves down and away from the upper feed roller 4 the spurs are reversed, causing the wool tufts to fall from the apron.

The falling, i. e., discharged wool tufts, descend upon an inclined guide plate 8 and pass therefrom to a measuring chamber 9 closed at its base by retractible doors Hi. This part of the apparatus is well known in the art as constituting elements of the Harwood Bramwell self-weighing feeder. In such self-weighing feeder the doors remain closed until a predetermined weight of wool is received in chamber 9 whereupon the doors are automatically tripped and the wool falls upon a feed belt H and is carried by pin rollers l2 to the carding cylinders of a carding machine (not shown).

In the present apparatus the shouldered feed rollers 4 are each provided with at least one peripheral channelway, two channelways being shown in Figure 5 at c. Secured to each bar 6 are two blocks l 3, Figure 3, these blocks being spaced in accordance with the spacing of the channelways a. Each block is formed with apertured ears I 3x and rivets through the ears secure the blocks to the bars 6. Each block is formed with a finger I3znx, and the finger in each case projects through registering apertures formed in the interfltting curved margins of two of the bars 6 as shown more particularly in Figures 2 and 6.

As the plural-bar apron moves over the feed rollers 4 the blocks I3 will successively be brought between appropriate shoulders of the feed rollers; formed by the peripheral channel 0, and the apron will be held against shifting as a whole; and, at the same time, all of the fingers 13m: will act intermediate each pair of the bars to prevent the shifting of any one bar relatively to the other bar. Thus by means of the fingered block and the feed roller channelway, complete and effective shift-restraining means is provided which will be of long life and at relatively little cost, since the fingered block may be cast, and the channeling of the feed rollers involves no more than minor milling operation.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

In wool feeding apparatus, a feeding apron comprising a plurality of bars carrying spurs, each bar having at its longitudinal margins curved areas interfitting with like curved areas on adjacent coacting feed bars of similar formation, each curved area being formed with an aperture intermediate its length, a contact member carried by one of each of said two bars and having two laterally projecting members, one being a finger projected into the curved area of said bar and the curved area of an interfitting bar via their apertures and engaging each of the said two bars at edges of their said apertures, and the second projecting member being a finger extending angularly of the first finger, and feeding rollers having channelways for receiving the last named fingers and for feeding the apron.

JOHN BELLI. 

